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From Anonymous Notes to Open Appreciation
It’s more than ten years ago. I can still see the conference room — too dark, too quiet. I had been asked to design the agenda for a department’s off-site. The leaders wanted to lift the mood, to spark something positive in a team that missed a personal touch. So I built a day full of rhythm and light: exercises on collaboration, time for feedback, moments of laughter in between. And at the end, I wanted to close with something small but meaningful — a gesture of appreciation. Each person would write a few kind words for another. A note to take home, a reminder that what we do matters.…
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Resilience through thankfulness
Make appreciation stick
This is how to build a great team out of nothing
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The Leap: From Senior to Leadership — Why It’s Not Just About the Next Role
Today, I listened to a podcast from a well-known comedian. Not exactly your typical career guru, but his words hit me with surprising precision. He shared that everything changed for him when he decided to prioritize himself — not his career, not the next gig, not even success. Himself. For him, that meant going to the gym, showing up on time, preparing his material like it really mattered. The result? He didn’t just become physically stronger — he started taking himself more seriously. And in turn, others started doing the same. And I thought: that’s exactly the moment when careers take off — when we stop waiting to be discovered,…
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What is your superpower?
Why the next promotion is not a goal
Turning bad experiences into valuable lessons
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From the Sidelines to the Spotlight: What Your First Leadership Role Really Feels Like
You thought it would feel powerful. Like finally having a seat at the table. Like being the one who decides, not the one who follows. And yes, it does feel different. But probably not in the way you expected. Your first leadership role is rarely the victory lap you imagined when you were still working your way up — delivering results, trying to be seen, and occasionally wondering why your boss acts the way they do. Because the truth is: when you step into leadership for the first time, the world tilts. It doesn’t revolve around you anymore. It revolves around others. And that… can be both humbling and beautiful.…
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How to handle a missed promotion
Small stuff matters
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Why it is good to have no clue what to do
When I led my first project team, it felt quite overwhelming. Assigning tasks to my team, talking to the client, keeping my internal stakeholders up to date, managing the scope, keeping track of the numbers … sometimes I didn‘t know what to do first. On top, the solution for the client didn‘t fall off the shelf but we needed to interview people, ask questions, define deliverables and agree on a way of working to getting to the results. Sometimes I really wished to know everything already. At that time, a lot of the solutioning was created in the evening when I went swimming. Under water I could think. I could…
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Resilience through thankfulness
Why I don’t want your advice
When Saying “No” Isn’t an Option: How to Handle Tough Leadership Requests with Grace
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Don’t consult your people for leadership
„What a shitty weather“, he complains while his car is fighting through wind and rain out of the city heading to this place in the middle of nowhere. The navigation system points to a spot along the lonely road. His assisstant had sent him the coordinates with the information to take a warm jacket. His boss requested him to come. Something about leadership – if he remembers correctly. But why on a Saturday? and why at this place? Through the fog, a parking lot unfolds. He reduces the speed and turns right. His colleagues are already there. Nice. Now he needs to spend a weekend with the same people he…
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Spread the Passion
When Challenge Turns into Clarity
Why you should always have a notice of termination ready
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Contradictory leadership skills
„What are the most important leadership skills?“, I challenge my team. Amongst several valid skills ‚empathy‘ and ‚resilience‘ come up. As we discuss what each one means to us, we are realizing that these two skills can become quite contradictory. But before we look deeper into that matter, let’s understand what each skill means. Empathy – n. the ability to imagine and understand the thoughts, perspective, and emotions of another person. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095750102;jsessionid=299D66408E0C979792F904B31354D677 We use empathy in client and staff meetings to understand the perspective of the other party. We comprehend or even feel the emotions of the other person. In consequence, we act according to the situation in the room.…
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Why leading a few is harder than leading many
Why you should always have a notice of termination ready
Make appreciation stick
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Your passion is welcome at work
„Are my passions relevant for my job?“ „What if Excel isn’t my hobby?“ „What does it mean to bring my whole self to my workplace?“ Maybe you are familiar with those questions. Since school we get taught that there are topics for which we are graded – and only these topics seem relevant for getting a job. Consequently, we devide our life in school and hobbies – and later in life in work and hobbies. Unfortunately, during this process we miss to find out which passions actually drive us. We somehow feel unfulfilled in our day-to-day job but we cannot articulate where the reason is. Hence, many people start questioning…
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What it takes to make a career
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What should I do next?
„What should I do next?“, the applicant asks. „What does my CV need?“ Although I highly value that people want to get good degrees and the entry ticket into certain jobs, I am wondering whether these are the wise questions to ask!? Because ‚your CV‘ is a reflection of your life and the time you spent in certain tasks (job, univeristy, family). And I am wondering whether ‚someone‘ should tell you how to spend your life. And even if it might be smart to ask good mentors for advice, the question must be asked when you will stop asking ‚what does my CV need‘? What isn’t transparent to students and…
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Consider LOVE in business
Do you have ‚career DNA‘?
Millennial? Don’t get hooked by this trait
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Career (un)planned!?
Talking to business people, you realize quickly that most people have started their careers with some sort of plan. You can see it in their CVs, too: elite university, year abroad, the right internships But are these colleagues the most inspiring ones? When I recall the happiest and most inspiring leaders and colleagues, they all had one thing in common: some sort of unpredictability crossed their life that led them to their current position. They took their chances when they had the option: the musician who went into consulting; the consultant who took a sabbatical and biked through african countries; the doctor who started a career in business coaching. They…
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What to do when a team member quits
„I need to leave the team“, she sighs. After training her the past year in different roles, I have offered her a leadership position in the team. And while she was thinking about it, she realized that she needed to focus on another role in her life. And that role is not in my team. I have mixed feelings: I am more than proud that she thought deeply and made a decision (these are the type of people I want in my team!) all while I am sad because I will not work with her in the future anymore. Did people quit in your team, too? It is very easy…
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How to handle pressure
This crisis kills my empathy
Sometimes life sucks
